Hi Clubhouse Families!!!
It was so lovely to meet you all on Sunday. I can see why all of your daughters are so wonderful, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!
Earlier this week, the girls dressed up with their camp sisters for Twin Night! You would be so proud of the way they took the lead with the younger campers. The inters look at your girls with such awe and appreciation, and I was so impressed with how the Clubhousers were so nurturing and caring to the girls who are just a few years younger than themselves. Caring behavior aside, their ideas were incredibly creative too! From “Freaky Friday,” to “Pigs in a (literal) blanket” their costumes were crafty, resourceful, and just adorable! Another successful Romacan Classic in the books.
Now! For the moment you’ve been waiting for! Our trip to Newport, Rhode Island!
We started off with a splash at Easton’s Beach, where we had a beachside picnic of sandwiches and chips, and spent the afternoon swimming and tanning in the Newport sun. The MVP of the day was definitely the hotel air conditioning, which felt like an absolute luxury coming from camp! After dinner, we closed out the night with some ice cream and took advantage of the hotel pool for some much needed night swimming. After a very eventful day we had an early night to prepare for our second day!
Day Two was a big one. We woke up bright and early and immediately headed downtown for some retail therapy! Downtown Newport didn’t know what hit them. A stampede of 13 year olds came and conquered, clearing the shelves of lobster pajama pants and matching Newport sweatshirts. There was a slight miscommunication, where some girls purchased shirts that said “Newport, Massachusetts” rather than “Newport, Rhode Island,” so we added a short geography lesson to our itinerary. Next, we boarded our private charter for the afternoon and sailed off into the sunset! (It was neither a sailboat, nor the time for sunset, but stay with me here.) The Rum Runner II gave us one-of-a-kind views of the Newport coastline and even took us out into the Atlantic Ocean. The girls had such a fun time singing sea shanties, taking pictures, and giving each other “hauls” of everything they bought earlier that morning. But the day was not yet done! (I told you it was a big one!) Following the boat, we made our way to The Breakers Mansion for a tour of the Vanderbilt home. Our running joke was that the house was “tiny,” and that their houses will be much much bigger and much much fancier when they grow up. Dream big girls!
Finally, we finished up our visit to Newport with a gorgeous walk along the coastline. The girls thought we were headed into part two of their hike since the name of the trail is called the “Cliff Walk,” but in reality it’s an entirely paved pathway that is completely flat. As you can imagine, they were thrilled! We were able to squeeze in a little more shopping before heading back to camp, and arrived back at camp with 3x the amount of stuff that we left with. I’d say it was a successful trip!
Off the record, this trip was a great opportunity to mix up the girls in different groups. Their walking groups changed throughout the trip, and many girls had the chance to make new memories and connections with their hotel roommates. It is hard to explain, but the shared experiences and laughs from the trip brought everyone just a little bit closer and you can absolutely feel the change!
We are back at camp safe and sound, and looking forward to keeping our feet planted for a full week of activities in our summer home.
<3 Zoe